sees her and she's fine. that could not be true. >> why would he do it the prosecutor asks? take a snapshot o this morning on "early today," foreign policy showdown. mitt romney gets serious about libya, syria, and more, but president obama hits him hard with a brand-new ad. we'll show it to you. winter weather now. many parts of the country will make up this morning to an arctic blast from the north. bill's forecast is straight ahead. and 48 straight. drew breess into the record books. this is a big one. >> this is "early today" for monday, october 8th, 2012. very good morning to you, i'm veronica de la cruz. 29 days and counting. there is less than a month to go

in the race for the white house, and right now, both candidates are on the road. while the president campaigns in california, mitt romney spent sunday in florida before his major foreign policy speech in virginia today. nbc's tracy potts that is details from washington. good morning. >> reporter: hi, veronica, good morning. even with those jobs numbers that came out friday helping president obama, we are still seeing mitt romney with a boost after the debate, and today he will argue that under the president, america is weaker against enemies abroad. mitt romney gives a big foreign policy speech in virginia today, but over the weekend in florida, he focused on taxes and president obama. >> he will ultimately have to raise taxes on middle income taxes by $4,000 a year. >> reporter: since last week's debate, which romney is widely regarded as having won, both sides argued the other was dishonest. >> he was a little taken aback at the brazenness with which governor romney walked away from

so many of the positions on which he's run. >> reporter: their truth war now on tv. >> not telling the truth about mitt romney's tax plan. >> this was dishonest. >> i'm not in favor of a $5 trillion tax cut. >> the governor knows his $5 trillion tax cut isn't too popular, so a few weeks before the election, he's trying to pretend it doesn't exist. >> reporter: president obama at a star-studded fundraising concert, heads to san francisco today with romney's poll numbers improving. >> they're looking very good. >> reporter: after the debate, romney is within two points of the president. and tomorrow, both candidates head to ohio, battleground ohio, where early voting is already under way. tomorrow is the last day to register to vote there. veronica? >> thank you. mitt romney will deliver that major policy speech before noon eastern, but the obama campaign is issuing a preemptive strike

with this new tv ad criticizing the republican candidate's past foreign policy faux pas. take a look. >> reckless. amateurish. that's what news media and fellow republicans called mitt romney's gaffe-filled july tour of england, israel, and poland, when our u.s. diplomats were attacked in libya, "the new york times" said romney's response showed an extraordinary lack of presidential character. >> the obama campaign sed this will be romney's seventh speech on foreign policy. venezuelan president hugo chavez gets to keep his job for another seven years, but his re-election came in the slimmest margin ever in his nearly 14 years in power. actor danny glover, a longtime supporter of chavez, was on hand for a day of heavy voter turnout. chavez's opponent, a former state governor, accused him of using the oil to his advantage.

well, talk about wedding crashers. in philadelphia, police had to break up a brawl involving almost 100 guests from two separate wedding parties. one man died of a heart attack and several people were injured, and it was all captured on cell phone video. >> reporter: it was anything but bliss on this wedding night in philadelphia. guests of two separate wedding parties duking it out. >> i was actually up on the second floor watching. >> it was bedlam. it really was out of hand. >> very loud and very obnoxious. >> reporter: that's the voice of 15-year-old max schultz, a guest at the hotel. he witnessed the wild brawl and recorded it on his cell phone. >> just started punching each other and hitting each other. >> reporter: by the time philadelphia police arrived, they said 75 to 100 people were fighting. >> police started cluging

people. >> reporter: investigators believe the melee originally started among members of the one wedding party but then someone reportedly from the second wedding party was hit with something and the situation went downhill from there. >> did they just deck the bride? >> reporter: at one point a bride is seen falling to the ground. several people were injured and one man believed to be an uncle of a bride died of a heart attack. police arrested several people for disorderly conduct and more arrests could come, on a night of celebration that disintegrated into chaos. now here's a look at some other stories making news today early in america. we begin with a california liquor store owner nearly killed on camera. man's brush with death happened when a drunk driver crashed his pickup through the store. luckily the shop owner was only hospitalized with minor injuries. the driver left the scene of the crime, but was later arrested on dui and felony hit-and-run.

next to florida, the company launching dragon capsule. three astronauts are awaiting the cargo along with one special treat, chocolate vanilla swirl ice cream was also sent up there. there was a different kind of launch in new mexico. over 600 hot air balloons took to the sky at the 41st albuquerque international balloon fiesta. pretty. this year's event featured an array of colorful balloons and one dedicated to luke skywalker's dad. good old darth vader. finally, 50 husbands and wives braved hazardous conditions at the 2012 north american wife carrying championships. couples raced through an obstacle course and the winning team from finland has won the world championship the past four years in a row. okay. and now for a look at your

weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins. what's the secret? >> my wife's been carrying me for like a decade now. >> and what does she get for that? what is the prize? >> i'm not sure. i'm just glad that she keeps coming back. well, good morning, everyone. as far as the forecast went this weekend, it all got our attention. i saw some people with hats and gloves on this weekend. the cold front swept all the way down to the gulf coast and finally the south got a little bit of that relief. highs were only in the 50s. we only hit 51 in chicago yesterday. 54 in new york. florida was one of the only hot spots on the map. even there cooling things off during the day today. how cold sit greeting you as you head out the door this morning? we're in the 30s from texas to oklahoma all the way through great lakes. we're in the 40 this is the big cities in the mid-atlantic in. the suburbs in the upper 30s to low 40s. thankfully we don't have many rainy spots out there.

just one area of rain in northern portions of mississippi. some of the heavier showers throughout this morning, but overall moving pretty quickly into areas of southern tennessee as we go throughout the morning. so your forecast today, after the chilly morning, it's a nice afternoon from denver to chicago. the only problem down there in florida, we'll continue with some showers and storms. that's a look at your national forecast. now here's a look at the weather outside your window. one area, the area of rain i was just mentioning there in mississippi, it will quickly be moving across the weather map today. eventually it will bring a chance of some clouds and showers to areas in virginia, even north carolina and possibly even washington, d.c. no big warm-up in sight. looks like this chillier weather pattern is here to stay for at least the next week. >> so is it win thor? >> -- winter? >> no, that's a whole duff ball game. business headlines are

straight ahead. plus, who is the new sexiest woman in the world? last year it was rihanna. did she repeat or is there someone new? you're watching "early today."

i'm veronica de la cruz. right now, one day after a israeli war plane shot down a drone that crossed into its air space, israeli forces swooped in over lebanese villages sunday. an apparent warning to hezbollah, which israel considers the prime suspect in the drone raid. crews went fishing for drugs and reeled in a major catch, seizing $35 million worth of cocaine in the caribbean and $2 million worth of marijuana tossed from a speeding boat near guantanamo bay, cuba. today a one-time cincinnati bengals cheerleader accused of having sex with an underage student will reportedly accept a pl deal. sarah jones allegedly had sexual contact with a 17-year-old while teaching at a high school in

kentucky. and trending right now on nbcnews.com, did you know your pets can catch the flu? in some cases, from you. new research finds a jump in the number of cats infected with both a seasonal and h1n1 virus. a third of american homes have at least one cat. nearly four in ten have at least one dog. and they too can be infected. who knew? and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow closed at 13,610. the s&p was down a fraction. the nasdaq lost 13. taking a look at overseas trading, the nikkei was closed for a holiday, but in hong kong, the hang seng dropped 187. bond markets are close, but stock markets will be open for business on this columbus day. but don't expect much holiday spirit. investors are bracing for what's being forecast as one of the worst earnings seasons since late 2009. as always, alcoa will kick

things off followed by jp morgan chase and google. this morning economic worries were a drag on most asian markets after the world bank slashed its growth forecast for china and east asia. the imf is expected to do the same for its global outlook sometime this week. here in the states, california's governor has ordered early delivery of cheaper winter grade gas to help ease a shortage that drove prices to a record $4.65 a gallon over the weekend. the national average is just $3.81. around the world, honda is recalling just under half a million crvs made between 2002 and 2006 for problems with a driver side power window switch that could cause a fire. priceline.com says the cost of thanksgiving flights are already on the rise. the average domestic round trip ticket is now $393, that's up 3% over last year. and speaking of holiday

spending, a record seven in ten americans will celebrate halloween this year. from costumes to candy, revelers will shell out just under $80 apiece. finally, say it isn't so. "the wall street journal" reports starbucks across the country are out of the flavoring for their pumpkin spice latte. so early in the season? come on! how will we all go on? playoff baseball and a historic night in the nfl for drew brees. plus, check this out. a monster pile-up at nascar's talladega super speedway. in weather, another shot of cold air is coming down from canada. just what we need, right? that's coming up. you're watching "early today."

very good morning to you. in sports, drew brees's record-setting night led the new orleans saints to their first win of the season. brees broke johnny unitas's 52-year-old record by throwing a touchdown pass his 48th straight game. it was a 40-yard strike to devery henderson in the fourth quarter. brees threw for 370 yards and four touchdowns to beat the san diego chargers 24-21. here now is an early look at all of sunday's nfl scores. games of note, the colts scored a touchdown in the final seconds for a stunning comeback win over

the packers. tom brady won the battle of the marquee quarterbacks, leading the patriots to a 31-21 victory over peyton manning and the broncos. washington's rg3 was knocked out of the game against the 5-0 falcons. and the 49ers became the first team in nfl history with 300 yards passing and 300 yards rushing in a 45-3 blowout against the bills. the new york jets play the undefeated houston texans tonight. now to baseball's national league division series. the nationals beat the cards 3-. they take a one-game lead. and last night, the reds blanked the giants 9-0, taking a two-game series lead in. the american league, the tigers walked off in a 5-4 victory over the a's and a two-game lead. the yanks scored five in the ninth to beat the o's 7-2, going one up on baltimore. finally, at nascar's talladega super speedway, tony stewart triggered a 25-car

pile-up as he tried to protect his lead. only two of the 12 title contenders avoided the final wreck. race winner matt kenseth and second place finisher jeff gordon. believe it or not, take a look at this, there were no injuries reported. wow. liam neeson takes a cool $50 million and ben affleck does the right thing. your entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, we're going to tell you about an organization that's quite literally putting smiles on thousands of children in need. you're watching "early today."

welcome back to "early today" on this monday morning. hope you had a wonderful weekend. forecast-wise, just a big chill is the story out there. not many areas of rain, the exception being northern mississippi this morning. as we go throughout day, though, we will see some of those cloudy cool conditions and showers spreading over the carolinas, tennessee, virginia, and up into washington, d.c. late today. by tomorrow, we'll be watching the next strong cold front. it's one shot after another as we go through fall. it all sets up for a chilly month. if you're watching us on wlfa tv in tampa, florida, get nose to beak with popular african penguins as they strut the red carpet and pose for pictures at the penguin promenade at the florida aquarium. that's your "early today" event of the day. very cute. now here's some headlines in entertainment.

actor liam neeson took theaters by storm this weekend. the action sequel "taken 2" led the box office with an astounding $50 million haul, nearly double what the first "taken" film made in its opening weekend. it is neeson's third biggest opening behind ""star wars" episode i" and "clash of the titans." elsewhere, actress mila kunis has dethroned rihanna as this year's sexiest woman alive. what do you think? >> i -- >> you remember her, the 29-year-old actress starred in this year's hit movie "ted." she's also known for her role in "family guy." last year, "gq" named her knockout of the year. >> guess i'm behind in the times. finally, if there's anyone that you'd want to hit your parked car, it would be this guy. ben affleck reportedly knocked the side mirror off a car this weekend, but he left a note on the windshield before leaving the scene, and in it, he apologized, he gave his contact information, and he promised to

cover all of the repairs. this now comes to us from wavy 10 on your side in portsmouth, virginia, where in nearby norfolk, one child's "the simple life" about to be changed with a smile. this family has a lot to be thankful about. their son's cleft lip is being fixed free of charge. for the last 30 years, the charity has done the same for over 200,000 children. the 6-month-old will need additional surgeries to completely fix the facial deformity, but his family knows he's one step closer to putting a smile on his face. i'm veronica de la cruz. this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

live look outside at 4:28. it's cold now. it will be cold this morning. it will be cold tonight. that's my forecast. good morning. i'm aaron gilchrist. >> and i'm angie goff in for eun ya yang. a lot of news to get to, but right now -- a developing story in bladensburg. a man is recovering after being shot from police. officers were called to 55th avenue around 7:00 last night to talk to a woman who reported being threatened.

shortly after officers got to the scene, a man with a knife approached him outside. the >> the officer confronted the suspect, gave him several verbal commands and ordered him to drop the knife. the man refused the orders and advanced on the officer. the officer, fearing for his life, fired his issued firearm and struck the suspect. >> police say the suspect suffered nonlife-threatening injuries. at last check, he was in stable condition in a local hospital. you should start to see pro israel ads on metro buses. the agency has to display the ads by 5:00 this evening. it protested the ad, comparing muslim rebels to savages. a federal judge ruled on friday that metro was violating afdi's first amendment rights. the ads have already been posted in new york city subway